Tiger Woods‘ longtime girlfriend is asking a judge to remove her from a nondisclosure agreement that she claims the 15-time major champion forced her to sign when their relationship started in August 2017, according to court records obtained by ESPN.
According to a civil complaint filed Monday in the Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Martin County, Florida, Erica Herman believes that the NDA is “invalid and unenforceable” and that a trust controlled by Woods is wrongfully using it against her.
Herman’s attorney is citing a federal law, the Speak Out Act, that prevents the enforcement of nondisclosure agreements in instances of sexual assault and harassment. In a civil cover sheet to the court, Herman’s attorney, Benjamin Hodas, indicated the case involved allegations of sexual abuse, although those allegations might not involve Woods directly.
Herman didn’t make any specific allegations against Woods.
Hodas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ESPN on Wednesday. Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This uncertainty is acute and important,” Herman’s complaint said. “Because of the aggressive use of the Woods NDA against her by the Defendant and the trust under his control, the Plaintiff is unsure whether she may disclose, among other things, facts giving rise to various legal claims she believes she has. She is also currently unsure what other information about her own life she may discuss or with whom. There is therefore an active dispute between the Plaintiff and the Defendant for which the Plaintiff needs a clarifying declaration from the Court.”
Woods, 47, is skipping the Players this week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He returned from a layoff of more than seven months when he made his 2023 debut at the Genesis at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Herman, 38, wasn’t seen with him at the tournament.
Herman’s attorney alleged that Woods is trying to use the NDA to force Herman to keep details of their relationship private. If the judge decides the NDA is enforceable, Herman’s attorney asked the judge to specify how it limits her ability to disclose, among other things, “her own experiences,” “experiences of her family members,” “photographs and recordings of herself and her family members,” “information from sources other than the Defendant” and “information responding to statements that the Defendant has made or published about her or others to prove the falsity or misleading nature of those statements.”
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